Bench vise upgrade

[LVLAaron]

Orange Vice

Buy once cry once

The Orange Vise: Next-Level Work Holding – Ultimate Reloader

ultimatereloader.com

2000 dollar vice because it's pretty? No thanks. I'll stick with the fireball.

 

[Infrequent Shooter]

I used to think a vice/vise was good for crushing things. Then I read that they are not made for that use and can damage the vice if used for that chore. I have some older stuff. Wilton, a pretty big Columbia? and a nice pretty high quality craftsman from the 60s. The one I use the most is a woodworkers vice attached to my workbench.

 

[muleystalker]

Wilton bullet vises are not what I/we always thought they were cracked up to be. "Cracked" pun intended

There actually wasn't a Wilton Bullet vise in the test. There were several new Wilton vises of different grades/cost and it looked like maybe there was one older Wilton but there wasn't a Wilton Bullet vise, or the model everyone refers to as the Bullet vise, The older one did well across the board. I have several original Wilton bullet vises, I even have one I got from my old neighbor that is new in the box, its at least 50 years old, he brought it home from work back in the early 70's.

 

[Syncrowave]

I used to think a vice/vise was good for crushing things. Then I read that they are not made for that use

My hunch is that if one is exceeding the yield strength of the steel in one's vise -- even the cheapest vise made in China -- then that means one isn't using the vise as intended. They're for holding work, not for upsetting tungsten, bending girders, enriching uranium or making synthetic diamonds. (NB: Putting a pipe on the handle is how all those handles got bent.) That's what power hammers, arbor presses and hydraulics are for...

A vise is just "a clamp fastened to a bench." My most-frequently-used vises are made of wood. Tensile strength? No idea, and not much, and far less than even the cheapest Chinese cast iron, but apparently more than needed.

I abuse my cheapo Chicom vises, but to date (close to 60+ years messing with them) I've never broken one.
I guess I need a bigger sledgehammer, longer pipe or less decaf. Kids break vises. Adults should know better.

 

[WSnyder]

There actually wasn't a Wilton Bullet vise in the test.

I would have sworn he did one with a bullet but I can’t seem to find it so mby I was mistaken.

 

[451whitworth]

https://www.fireballtool.com/products/compact-hardtail-vise-6?variant=44832579485740
Have you used this compact one?

No. I have the welded together model.

 

[Kracken McGraw]

No. I have the welded together model.

That does look like a great value on a strong vise.

 

[muleystalker]

I would have sworn he did one with a bullet but I can’t seem to find it so mby I was mistaken.

No but there was a newer Wilton in it that kind of resembled the bullet vise but it was quite a bit shorter but had the tapered end. to be honest like has been stated above this video's point vast to try and make the vise fail, most people will never come close to that... but it was eye opening and you got to see the internal parts and the weak points.

 

[Lefty2506]

I don't have a picture of it, but at work we bought an 8" Wilton about 8 years ago. It was their top of the line vice, and it was well over $2k. I thought to myself "$2k for a bench vice?!?!?!? No WAY! It's not like its a KURT or something..." Then I used it.... True, it's not a KURT, but it has almost NO slop in it. It really is an impressive tool, and of course it is pretty big. I've been working in the manufacturing industry for almost 3 decades, I've been in more machine shops and maintenance shops than I can keep track of and I've never seen a bench vice with tolerances that came remotely close to this vice. Would I pay over $2k for a bench vice? Heck no. Would I spend $2k of the companies money to get the best vice made? Heck yeah, and I'd do it twice on Friday. I don't say that because I'm trying to hose my company. We build custom automated assembly equipment for our production floor. Using nice tools goes a long ways in having a finished product that looks as good as it works, so that $2k vice was a real bargain and has paid for itself 5x in having to replace machined parts that were cosmetically damaged because they slipped in the vice.

 

[Bill Clifton]

Wilton bullet vises are not what I/we always thought they were cracked up to be. "Cracked" pun intended

I'd be curious how the Wilton Machinist vice would have held up in that test. Wouldn't change my opinion though, the fireball vice always wins on these torture tests but it is useless so many times in the shop because of the shallower jaws.

Just one example, the deeper jaws along with wide opening of my Wilton machinist vice lets me press u-joints in dump truck driveshafts and that sort of thing that wont fit in the shallow jaws of the fireball vice. They all have their place but the strongest vise isn't necessarily the best if it lacks the depth to clamp an object where you need it to.

I have a bunch of different vices and used countless ones and if I can only have one kind I'd keep the Wilton machinest vices for their overall usefulness and plenty of strength for anything someone has any business doing with a vice.

This is my favorite vice in my shop for heavy duty or clamping large objects, the machinist vices jaw depth is almost as deep as the jaws are wide and they open about twice as much as their depth making them the most useful for their size. The price of these new is crazy now but as someone else said watch auctions because I picked one like this up for 175 bucks in like brand new condition.

Wilton Machinists Vise, 6" Jaw Width 600S | Zoro

Order Wilton Machinists Vise, 6" Jaw Width, 600S at Zoro.com. Great prices & free shipping on orders over $50 when you sign in or sign up for an account.

www.zoro.com